UTRECHT, The Netherlands – BCD Travel’s Cities & Trends U.S. ranking highlights the top cities, states, routes, and booking habits of the year from BCD client’s U.S. business travelers. The findings based on BCD flight and car rental data from 2024 shows business hotspots and reveals growing markets and traveler behavior insights.
Business travel not only serves as an indicator of economic health but also reflects a region’s growth and stability, said Jorge Cruz, executive vice president of Global Sales and Marketing at BCD. It shows the evolving dynamics of domestic and global trade, investment trends, and corporate confidence. The growth in business travel exceeded expectations in 2024, setting the stage for more momentum in 2025.
Top 10 business travel cities
The top three U.S. cities for business travelers are also major hubs for some of the largest airlines in the country. Atlanta, home to Delta Air Lines, is the most frequented city followed by Dallas-Fort Worth and Chicago which are important hubs for American Airlines and United Airlines.
Domestic rankings largely remain the same compared to the previous Cities & Trends report.
Looking at the top intercontinental cities, the reigning most visited European cities for U.S. business travelers include London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris, and Munich. The top Asian cities include Tokyo coming in sixth place and Seoul in ninth. Dublin jumped one spot from the previous year, moving Switzerland’s financial hub, Zürich, to eighth place. New market entrants plus new and returning routes contributed to a surge in travel between Ireland and the U.S. The only Latin American city to join the ranking was São Paulo coming in at No.10.
2024 ranking Domestic Intercontinental
2024 ranking
Domestic
Intercontinental
1
Atlanta, GA
London
2
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
Frankfurt
3
Chicago, IL
Amsterdam
4
New York City, NY
Paris
5
Denver, CO
Munich
6
Washington, DC
Tokyo
7
Seattle-Tacoma, WA
Dublin
8
Charlotte, NC
Zürich
9
Houston, TX
Seoul
10
Los Angeles, CA
São Paulo
Top 10 business travel states and countries
The most visited states for business travelers in the U.S. also reflect some of the strongest economies in the nation. Texas leads followed by California, Georgia, Illinois, and Florida.
Seven out of the 10 top countries are European, demonstrating the strong trade and investment ties between the U.S. and European nations.
2024 ranking Domestic Intercontinental
2024 ranking
Domestic
Intercontinental
1
Texas
United Kingdom
2
California
Germany
3
Georgia
Netherlands
4
Illinois
France
5
Florida
Japan
6
North Carolina
Ireland
7
Colorado
Switzerland
8
Washington, D.C.
Spain
9
Washington
Brazil
10
New York
United Arab Emirates
Top 10 business travel routes
New York City was the most popular departure and arrival city for domestic flights, with the top two routes being Chicago to New York City and vice versa. Other frequent New York City routes included travel to and from Los Angeles, Boston, and Dallas-Fort Worth.
The Big Apple remained the top departure city for intercontinental routes followed by Chicago and Los Angeles. Most business travelers flew into London or Frankfurt followed by Paris or Amsterdam. These cities are home to the busiest international airports in Europe according to seat volume.
2024 ranking: Domestic routes – Intercontinental routes
2024 ranking
Domestic routes
Intercontinental routes
1
Chicago – New York City
New York City – London
2
New York City – Chicago
Chicago – Frankfurt
3
Los Angeles – New York City
Los Angeles – London
4
New York City – Los Angeles
New York City – Frankfurt
5
Atlanta – Dallas-Fort Worth
Chicago – London
6
Dallas-Fort Worth – Atlanta
Washington, D.C. – Frankfurt
7
New York City – Boston
Seattle-Tacoma – London
8
Boston – New York City
New York City – Paris
9
New York City – Dallas-Fort Worth
San Francisco – Frankfurt
10
Dallas-Fort Worth – New York City
Atlanta – Amsterdam
Cabin class and flight type
According to BCD’s 2024 travel policy survey, most travel policies consider flight duration when defining rules around booking business class. On average, business class is allowed on flights over seven hours long. This is evident in the booking data from U.S. business travelers flying internationally with most booking business class (48%) and economy class (39%). Premium economy (12%) and first class (less than 1%) were booked the least. This shows a slight decrease in business class compared to the previous year’s 53% and a slight increase from economy’s 36%.
It’s a very different story for domestic flights. Almost all business travelers flew economy (95%) with only 4% flying business class. Less than 1% of bookings made up first and premium economy class. This data followed a very similar trend from the previous year with less than 1% variance.
The majority of domestic flights were direct (81%) while just less than half (47%) were direct for intercontinental flights.
We’re seeing small changes in cabin class compared to data from 2023, but the number of travelers booking direct flights has remained very similar, said Cruz. Flying direct is often a better choice for traveler satisfaction since it removes the challenges and risks that come along with connecting flights. Flying direct also produces less carbon emissions making it a win-win for travelers and their company’s carbon footprint.
Car rental
Car rental bookings followed 43% of all air bookings made by U.S. business travelers, marking a 1% decrease from the previous year. The top cities for car rentals mirror the top cities for business travel: Dallas-Fort Worth, Chicago and Atlanta. While there was a slight decline in car bookings in conjunction with a flight, major business hubs continue to drive the demand for car rentals.
2024 ranking U.S. city
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
Chicago, IL
Atlanta, GA
Washington, D.C.
Orlando, FL
Houston, TX
Los Angeles, CA
Denver, CO
New York City, NY
Phoenix, AZ
The Cities & Trends U.S. ranking is part of a series that will also include reports for Europe and APAC. These reports aim to provide valuable insights into business travel trends across different regions, helping companies make informed decisions and optimize their travel strategies.
About BCD’s Cities & Trends rankings
Business travel can be a seismograph of economic growth. The rise and fall of business travel volumes reflect the level and health of economic activity within a region or country. BCD’s latest Cities & Trends United States 2025 edition shows the top destinations for BCD client’s U.S. business travelers with insights into how they travel. The findings are based on BCD flight and car rental data from 2024 in the U.S.
About BCD Travel
BCD Travel helps companies travel smart and achieve more. We drive program adoption, cost savings and talent retention through digital experiences that simplify business travel. Our 15,000+ dedicated team members service clients in 170+ countries as we shape a sustainable future for business travel. BCD’s leading meetings and events management and global consultancy services complete our comprehensive suite of solutions for all aspects of corporate travel. In 2023, BCD achieved US$20.3 billion in sales. For more information, visit www.bcdtravel.com.
